KSU Golden Flashes looking to steal a win in Oxford

Thursday

When you’re building a football program and desperate for wins, the Mid-American Conference can be extremely unforgiving.

While one could argue that there’s no marquee team in the MAC this season, there are definitely no cupcakes either. A quick glance at the bottom of the standings proves it.

Eastern Michigan won at Purdue in its second game of 2018, but is 0-3 in the MAC. Central Michigan hung in at Kentucky and Michigan State, but is off to an 0-2 start in conference play. Bowling Green is also 0-2 despite posting 59 points in its first two MAC affairs. Akron, which stunned Northwestern, opened conference action with a 41-17 home loss to Miami last week.

Parity in the MAC creates a bevy of intriguing matchups, but also makes it difficult for long-suffering teams like Kent State to gain traction.

"That’s what makes this league the best league in the country," said first-year KSU head coach Sean Lewis. "There are great players in this league that love to play this game, and it doesn’t matter how many people are in the stands or what day of the week the game is on. Guys genuinely love to play, the coaches are high-level coaches, and because of it we put a great product on the field.

"It’s a great challenge. That’s why I wanted to be back in this league."

The Golden Flashes are one of five teams that will enter Saturday’s action winless in conference play despite playing some excellent football in spurts. Kent State led Illinois by 10 at the half, trailed Ole Miss by just seven through three quarters, and led preseason MAC favorite Ohio for over 58 minutes before falling 27-26 last Saturday.

Pats on the back after a fine effort are getting old. What the Flashes (1-5, 0-2) need now is to walk off the field pounding their chests after a confidence-boosting triumph.

Their next opportunity to earn that elusive first MAC victory of 2018 comes this Saturday in Oxford, which means it certainly won’t be easy.

Miami (2-4, 2-1) features a veteran quarterback in redshirt senior Gus Ragland, who has thrown for 1,231 yards and nine touchdowns while tossing just three interceptions this fall.

"(Ragland) has a good handle on what they’re doing, and regardless of the injuries they’ve had around him he’s still found ways to work the ball down field and get points," said Lewis. "The way we contain him is stop the run. Making them a little more one-dimensional than they want to be gives us a competitive edge, but it’s going to be a mighty strong challenge."

"(Koenig) has one of the most impressive string of plays in that (Akron) game that I’ve ever seen as a player or as a coach," said Lewis. "There are five possessions where he accounts personally for four turnovers, and those turnovers led to points that allowed that game to end up the way it did."

With no sure wins on the MAC schedule, the Flashes need to get the ball rolling by stealing one at some point. They’ve put themselves in position to do just that on several occasions in 2018, but need to stay away from key mistakes down the stretch and finish the job.

"When we do things right, we can compete with the best of the best in this league. We’re right there," said Lewis. "Now we just need to double down our efforts, come with a greater sense of urgency so that we can find ways to win when it comes to that moment of truth."